And after being sentenced to 87 years behind bars for drug crimes Wednesday, it appears that is where he will die — as will a co-defendant who received 165 years to life for dealing what a judge described as "poison."

Pearson, 36, of Albany, and Guy Anderson, 35, of Cohoes, known as "Sos," were convicted in May for their roles in a ring that trafficked hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of heroin and cocaine into the Capital Region from New York City.

Pearson, a member of the South End-based Original Gangsta Killas street gang, and Anderson, a five-time felon, were convicted in May alongside Michael "Jigga" Williams, a Bloods gang member from Albany who was sentenced July 10 to 112 years in prison.

The men were found guilty following a 13-week trial — the longest in the history of Albany County.

On Tuesday, Adam Parisi, the lawyer for Pearson, said his client was born in Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, a state prison for women in Westchester County, in 1977. He told Albany County Judge Stephen Herrick that any term stiffer than the 18-year plea bargain Pearson rejected in midtrial would be "retaliation."

The judge was unmoved but saved his sharpest criticism for Anderson, who tried to convince the judge he was no different than the addicted users of his product.

"A user of heroin and a seller of heroin — an addict is an addict," Anderson told the judge, who runs a drug court program. "And that's something that I'm trying to come to grips with right now ... that I have an issue. I have a problem, OK? And it's not using heroin, it's selling heroin."

Herrick interjected: "I don't see the two as being close to being the same."

The judge, rankled by Anderson's analogy, added: "You were selling poison throughout the Capital District. You were bringing up large shipments of heroin, which is deadly!"

He reminded Anderson, a non-drug-user, that he was caught on wiretaps demanding prompt deliveries of the drugs.

"You had conversations with people where you wanted the shipment in time to get here for the welfare checks because people were going to have money to buy your poison," Herrick said.

He told Anderson he believes the defendant is intelligent and had high potential but threw it away for a life of a drug dealer. Anderson was convicted as "major trafficker," which alone carried a possible life sentence.

"You weren't out pulling the trigger killing people," Herrick told Anderson, "but you were killing people, with long deaths."

Anderson's attorney, Michael Feit, told the judge he believes it is too easy to assume every drug addict is forced or seduced into the habit. Feit said people willingly use many things that are unhealthy. To illustrate his point, Feit highlighted a study that, according to Feit, found Albany residents consume more pizza than any place per capita in the world. He said taverns sell alcohol, stores sell cigarettes and in some parts of the world it is not illegal to sell drugs.

The judge determined Anderson to be a persistent felony offender, grounds for a life sentence, following arguments from Assistant Deputy Attorney General Michael Sharpe, who prosecuted the case. Sharpe told Herrick Anderson was "supplying poison to thousands of heroin addicts throughout the Capital Region all for his own monetary gain."

Sharpe said Anderson's history included seven convictions in total. He said Anderson was a "large-scale drug dealer, one of the largest, I think you'll find, in the Capital Region."

And Sharpe said Anderson's rap sheet includes a bizarre 1996 drug conviction. He said Anderson hailed a cabdriver in Dutchess County and asked the cabbie how much he would charge to be the wheelman in a drive-by shooting. The driver kicked Anderson out of the car and called police, who asked the cabdriver to go back and pick up Anderson and agree to do the drive-by. When the cabbie picked up Anderson, police arrived, he ran away and was arrested with crack in his pocket.

Earlier, Herrick told Pearson he understood his background but showed no leniency.

"Drugs have been a part of your life since you were born — since before you were born," Herrick told Pearson. "You did not extricate yourself from that lifestyle."

Sharpe called Pearson a "blight" the on streets of Albany for two decades. He has several prior convictions, at least two of which are felonies.

"This defendant should be taken off the streets for the rest of his life," Sharpe said.

After Pearson was escorted from the courtroom by deputies, his girlfriend muttered an expletive and called police officers who worked on the case "pigs" as she left the courtroom in tears.

Herrick called Pearson a "major upper-middle-level drug dealer."

The three convictions ended a 2012 case by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office against 52 defendants, including reputed members of the Bloods and OGK. It was called the largest crackdown in the history of the attorney general's Organized Crime Task Force.

Most defendants cut plea deals, avoiding a trial.

Herrick dismissed charges against two defendants, Anthony Taylor of Albany and Richard Collier of Glens Falls, in midtrial following arguments by their lawyers.

Marquese "Man Man" Johnson, who authorities said has been an OGK member, was acquitted of every charge that ended in a verdict. Schneiderman's office could retry him on the undecided charges.